Discussion of the effectiveness of virtual teams

Hui Yu

Abstract：With the development of globalization and technology， there is an increasing trend of using virtual teams by multinational enterprises nowadays. Therefore， knowing how to build successful virtual teams are important to firms to meet demands of the modern business environment.

Key words：virtual teams， effectiveness， multinational enterprises

1. The definition of virtual teams

1.1 Defining the virtual teams

There were many literature surveys on virtual teams and each of them has its own definition of virtual teams based on their emphasis. While most of them were approximately the same as that are described by Warner and Witzel （2004）， they defined virtual teams as intangible teams which are made up of members who are dispersed geographically and connected with each other primarily based on advanced information and telecommunications technologies such as text messaging， telephone， e-mail， blogs and videoconferencing.

1.2 The comparison with conventional teams

Compare with a conventional team， the most difference between these two types of team is the existence form. Conventional teams are defined by physical space which consists of office building， factories and warehouses while virtual teams are based on intangible networks which cannot be seen.

Due to this lack of face-to-face communication， it is always difficult to build a high level of trust in virtual teams， especially global virtual teams deal with several challenges such as the use of media for interaction， time differences， and cultural differences.

Moreover， in a conventional team， it is relative easy for supervisor to monitor and motivate members as knows their attitudes and requirements.

2. The effective virtual teams

2.1 The way to measure the effectiveness of virtual teams

This essay uses a framework （Fig.1） which begins with the inputs which affect the process and outcomes depend upon the interaction within the process of the team.

2.3The major determinants of effective virtual teams

In fact， to measure the effectiveness of virtual team is to assess if the team could transform inputs of team members into good outputs. According to the research of Dekker （2008）， there are many factors which could influence interaction behaviors within team members， which in turn， affect achievement of virtual teams effectiveness.

2.3.1 Media Use

It is important to match task with proper media as different media have different functions and effective team can choose right medium for interaction.

2.3.2 Common organizational cultural

Have a common team culture is important to the successful virtual team as members could bond together tightly under the same perception of culture.

2.3.3 Handling diversity

Handling diversity refers to deal with language， time zone， and cultural differences of virtual team members. All these diversity could lead to serious conflicts if team members do not deal with them appropriately.

2.3.4 Interaction volume and interaction reliability

Interaction volume is about the frequency of interactions. Effective interaction should compact and straight to the point rather than overflow of written or verbal messages.

2.3.5 In-role behavior and extra-role behavior

These two behaviors are all relevant to team commitment. Defined by Dekker （2008）， effective in-role behaviors is members take the team goal seriously and working on the task towards this goal instead of their personal goal and take responsible for it， whereas extra-role behavior is the willingness of individuals to help other team members with their works when they find difficulties in the process of work or just because they are too busy to complete it.

2.3.6 Effective communication

As lack of physical interaction， to keep pace with work process by communicating in time about tasks which are not finished or the deadlines is very important otherwise the team may not complete the task.

2.3.7 Effective leadership

Good leaders could contribute on team success through rallying people around a compelling purpose， sharing power and admitting their ignorance. They could transfer a clear， compelling purpose to every team member and guide them move towards the same direction and motivate team members.

3. Case study of Nokia： a successful virtual team

Nokia is a multinational communications and information technology corporation which has around 122，000 employees across 120 countries. Even though team members are located in different countries， across different time zones and cultures， Nokias teams are effective and successful which could be presented by the speed and flexibility of decision-making in its flat， networked team structure.

The official business language of Nokia is English. All documentation is written in English， and is used in official intra-company spoken communication and e-mail. The use of same language means effective communication as almost every employee could speak English in such a large-scale multinational company.

In the process of selection， Nokias managers are very careful to hire people those have collaborative mindsets and are highly committed to the tasks or projects. The company also tries to make sure some members in a team have worked together before as this provides relatively high trusting relationships. In addition， Nokia makes the best use of technology which could affiliate team members access all day and it provides an online social networking where virtual workers are encouraged to post photos and share personal information with each other. These behaviors can promote the build of trust and commitment within the team.

Another factor which contributes to the effectiveness of Nokias virtual teams is the strong company values. Until May 2007， the Nokia values were customer satisfaction， respect， achievement， and renewal. In May 2007， Nokia redefined its values based on the employee suggestions， the new values were defined as： engaging you， achieving together， passion for innovation and very human. The common values which are believed by every team members make them always bond together.

4. Conclusion

This essay has analyzed factors relevant to effectiveness of virtual teams by using input-process-outcome framework. Virtual teams are an innovative type of team and relatively difficult to manage as the lack of physical communication and highly rely on technology when comparing with conventional teams. Therefore， using technology to enhance communication and trust， paying attention to diverse skills and opinions， ensuring timely responses online and creating a psychologically safe virtual culture are all help enhance the virtual team effectiveness.

5. References

Warner， M and Witzel， M. （2004）. Managing in Virtual Organizations， London： Thomson Learning

Dekker， M. D. （2008）. Global Virtual Teams： Enhancing Effectiveness， Eindhoven： Eindhoven University of Technology

Daft， R. L and Marcic， D. （2011）. Management The New Workplace， Andover： Cengage Learning

Ahuja， J. （2010）. A Study of Virtuality Impact on Team Performance， The IUP Journal of Management Research， （8/5）. 27-56

Pauleen， D. （2004）. Virtual teams： Projects， protocols and processes. Hershey： Idea Publishing Group